A labyrinthine collection of female
images in various photographic styles does not quite capture
Matuschka's autobiographical retrospective. The walls of the pocket
Sohn Fine Art Gallery pack iconic photos across the 40-year span of her
career. Light filters from the picture windows and the open door into
the two white rooms, lending a clinical feel to the place. Tucked
into a corner next to some jewelry cases hangs the famous Beauty out of Damage, as though it were just another photograph in the
series, one amongst her many important works.
Looking back at these highlights from
her career, it becomes apparent that Matuschka's portraiture begins
to show agency, only after she gained notoriety for the photograph of
her breast cancer scar. In so many of her photos, her self-image is
passive. Even in Beauty out of Damage, the artist's face is
turned away from the camera, as though she hides from both the
camera's gaze and her wounding. As cover of the New York Times
Sunday Magazine, the somber image becomes a political statement,
and its critical reception read the image as representing “agency.”
Although a passive positioning of the body, Matuschka's image
ironically shifts from her identity as model, photography assistant,
and object, to one that actively expresses with the intent to raise
cancer awareness.